Story:Kings of Strife/Part 16
Part Sixteen “…you must go south, to the darkness, to finish things.” No matter how focused he was on his objective, Silverius couldn’t get Maria’s final words out of his head. He and Cidolas had left the city of Straits on stolen motorcycles and rode southward as quickly as they could, once the both of them and Vik also had resupplied with their pool of dolarov, and the trip through the Inusian country had certainly been grueling. Many miles of bumpy, hilly, and even rocky countryside stood between Straits City and the Black Pass, right in the middle of the southern Aquari Mountains that acted as a natural border between Inusia and Shimura. If Silverius wasn’t concentrating, he likely would have injured himself. Even so – he couldn’t get Maria’s words out of his mind. When he blinked, he saw her quivering red eyes, fit to bursting with tears of pure suffering. That was what kept him going, even though Silverius hadn’t slept in almost a full day. ‘I have to protect her…!’ Cidolas said nothing to him as they rode side by side down the dusty, unkempt Inusian roads. She was just as serious as he was, and just as silent. Unlike his previous exodus with Maria, this time Silverius made no stops to marvel over the landscapes or rest. He would never allow himself to rest until she was back in his arms, and he fulfilled his promises. “…to finish things.” His black jacket was pinned around his neck beneath its hood, and with the speed of his movement it flew behind him like a cape. Though it was officially winter by now, the air grew slightly warmer as one went south in Inusia, and Silverius was far too excited to feel very cold for the moment. Cidolas also dressed for moderate weather, as if disregarding the oncoming winter – but her choice of clothing was completely unknown to him. Like the rest of her existence, he figured it was likely illogical and vague. Before long, the plains and hills of central Inusia evolved into rocky outcroppings and a grey stone wasteland. They drove well into the night, and after only a few hours the tall peaks of the Aquari Mountain line became visible on the far horizon. The two of them continued to drive without any hesitations, into the horizontal mountain range and into Silverius’ destiny. Their destination was soon clear – tall black spires of a forgotten castle rose high into the sky, the darkness of its stone construction starky visible despite the shadowy mountains behind it and the night oppressively hanging all over the world. The Black Pass was once used and manned heavily by Inusian soldiers to completely monitor all traffic between Inusia and Shimura, the country directly south of the Aquari Mountains. That practice completely ended once Shimura was ruined by a mysterious plague seventeen years ago, after which the entire area was abandoned and all travel to Shimura was banned indefinitely. Ever since then, no one has been to Shimura, not even Inusian soldiers. The only thing still guarding the fortress was the inexplicable mist that covered the entrance to the fortress and the nation past it. Soon they arrived at the Black Darkness. Silverius and Cidolas both drove their motorcycles right into the heavy gray fog that obscured their vision of the valley and all but the highest points of the Black Pass. Not two minutes after they entered its claustrophic grip, their motorcycles both coughed and sputtered until they grinded to a halt, right next to each other. No matter how often the both of them revved the engines of their vehicles, they refused to return to life. “We will have to continue on foot,” Cidolas said as calmly as ever. “Leave the rations and supplies, and bring only your weapons.” Silverius nodded and gathered his gunblade, half of his extra ammunition, and a few small knives to hide in his clothing. Both of the warriors were dressed mostly in black, allowing them to stand out from the oppressive gray of the ironically named Black Darkness, but just a few steps away and Cidolas already started to fade into the mist. Silverius quickly gathered his thing and walked unsteadily after his female companion. “How are we supposed to see where we’re going in the mist like this? How did anyone get to and from the Pass?” “They didn’t. Not even we know of this place’s true layout, although we have somewhat of an instinct for it. Simply follow us, and we shall arrive.” “I see…” Silverius kept his hand on the hilt of his gunblade, just to feel somewhat safer. “That Serpent Knight will be waiting for us there, won’t he? With Maria in tow, I bet.” The mercenary’s blood began to boil at the thought of it. “We cannot say. Our monitoring of the third Hero ended before its time, and we know only that they started to move south. It is possible that the Blood Knight and your lover took the final Hero captive, but it is also possible that another enemy is behind it all. Above all, we must move with caution.” “Of course.” Silverius steeled his mind and kept pace behind Cidolas through the mist, and the two moved silently for quite some time. The mercenary’s mind remained troubled and distracted, though, and after multiple hesitated attempts, he spoke to the Crystal guardian once again. “You know, I didn’t really mean what I said back there, in Straits. I do trust you and your strength… but it’s not like I want to kill you for no reason. I’m just… frustrated.” He looked downward, or as much as he could in the heavy mist. Of course, he had planned on killing Cidolas, but… the more he thought about it, the more he felt uneasy in doing so (again). “Do not worry about it,” Cidolas said with an even tone. She kept her back straight and her pace even, as if what he was saying didn’t bother her in the slightest. “Even if we are hated, fought against, and killed… We will continue to act in the interest of the Crystals and the world. Relentlessly, without end – think of us as infinity.” “I… I can’t imagine how difficult that must be. I know what it’s like to be hated by the world… Really, I do.” Silverius bit his lip and let show a fragment of the pain and alienation he had been feeling for his entire life. It was almost as suffocating as the mist all around him, because it came from within. “For almost a decade, I’ve lived like that… How can you be so calm and accepting of a fate like that?” Though she kept walking, Cidolas turned and looked to Silverius – with a smile. “It is not so difficult. We have been living like this for centuries, at least.” Before Silverius could say anything else, the two of them walked forward and emerged out of the mist of Black Darkness. The Black Pass sat on a hill of sorts, a raised plot of land that jutted from the relatively flat plateau of the valley behind it. The night painted all of the surrounding landscape in various shades of black and dark brown, creating sharp spears of darkness from the mountains that erupted from the harsh and dry ground. Now the two found each other at the entrance of the Pass, and its hardwood door was the only thing Silverius could see that wasn't black. It was left slightly ajar. “…finish things.” Silverius started walking towards the door, unclipping his gunblade and walking in front of Cidolas as he did so. “I need you to make a promise to me, Cidolas. Do you think you can do that?” The woman followed him through the massive door, left open just enough for the two of them to slip inside without touching the door or making any noise at all. She was just as calm as ever, even as she unsheathed her sword and held the two weapons at her side. “We don’t see why not. What is the promise you request, Hero?” “I’ll tell you when we get out of here,” Silverius replied. He walked slowly into the fortress’ massive foyer, where two sets of staircases spiraled up to a second floor far in the background of the room. Beneath the stairs was a wall with various closed wooden doors, and off to both sides stretched hallways likely leading to facilities of some sort. Silverius looked around the dark and open foyer with a frown. “How are we supposed to know where to go…? This could take hours. This place is massive.” “Follow us,” Cidolas suddenly said brusquely. She started to walk towards the staircases, or rather the middle ground between them. “We sense the third Hero!” Without a further word, she jumped right up to the railing – at least ten feet clear into the air – and scaled it. Silverius spent only a second gawking at his superhuman companion. “H-hey, wait up for me!” He ran up one of the staircases as quickly as he could, stopping only to look around after he arrived at the balcony for the second floor. Cidolas stood there waiting for him in front of a wide-open golden door. Gathering his breath quickly and holding his sword readily out to his side, Silverius followed her. The two ran through a few hallways of the castle and soon ascended to the third floor. Its architechure was classically outdated, with large chandeliers decorating every ceiling and ornate tapestries of Inusian military heroes on almost every wall. Notably, though, the place lacked any electricity or any windows, so its interior was almost completely pitch black. The only light source came from scarce torches and candles, both of them quite rare but abundant enough to make navigating through the castle possible. Before long, the two warriors arrived at the back of the castle, to a door that was more ornate than any other save the initial entrance. This door was a sharp golden hue, and was almost twice Silverius’ height. Like the entrance, it was left slightly ajar. Cidolas stood in front of the door with a determined look, and when Silverius arrived next to her, she nodded at him. The Crystal’s guardian opened the door slowly, without making any noise, and Silverius walked inside the colossal chamber. This room was almost completely unfurnished, and it had a large open-air balcony on its right side. From here, for the first time in the entire castle, beams of natural moonlight illuminated the chamber. There, on a tall gray chair that resembled a throne, sat a girl with long hair, her head lowered and her eyes closed. She appeared to be serenely asleep. A large red coat draped around her like a blanket. Looking out the balcony with arms crossed, not five feet away from the sleeping girl, stood a hugely tall and muscular shirtless man with wild red hair. He was impossibly scarred all over, and veins wrapped around his muscles like rivers over the earth. As the door opened, the Crimson Death turned from his watch over the balcony and looked over the two intruders with a scowl. The three figures stood in still silence for a moment before both Silverius and Taoris moved at the same time. The mercenary in black raised his gunblade and shot a single bullet aiming right for Taoris’ forehead; the Crimson Death reached behind the throne and pulled out one of his broadswords, swinging it just in time to block the bullet flying right towards him. The bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the balcony and into the night. The sleeping woman barely stirred. “I’m not sure how you found me here,” the Crimson Death growled as he lowered his sword, “but you’re still a few years too early to challenge me and win. And where’s your lady friend? She die yet?” Silverius also lowered his sword and glared harshly. “I could be asking you the same question. Where is she?!” “Hm? How should I know? I think I’m the one in position to ask questions here.” The Crimson Death yawned – and dashed to the side as he did so, spinning his sword and creating sparks of light as his broad steel collided with the thin blade of Cidolas Teftah. Her incredibly swift dash completely blocked, Cidolas flipped backwards and landed on her feet, both weapons held outstretched in her grip. Silverius looked over at his companion with surprise. He hadn’t anticipated the movements of her or the serial killer in front of them both. “If it’s her you’re here for,” Gin Taoris said as he stood to his full height again, “You’ll have to turn back. She’s under my care now.” “We absolutely will not leave the third chosen Hero in your care,” Cidolas retorted adamantly. “R-right! And I’m not going anywhere until I get Maria out of here and finish things, either!” Silverius raised his blade to point at Taoris and narrowed his eyes, purging his emotions and forcing himself to focus on his bloodlust. “Two against one. You’re outmatched.” Taoris laughed and reached behind the throne to retrieve his second broadsword. Though the blades were both massive in width and length, the Crimson Death held them on his shoulders effortlessly, as if they were sticks retrieved from the floor of a forest. “Very well, I’m not one to back down from a slaughter.” He looked Silverius in the eye and his smile instantly faded. “I don’t repeat myself, though, so I’ll only say this once. You’re not ready to be a complete challenge to me yet. Leave now, or I’ll kill you.” “I thought I said I’m not leaving.” The Crimson Death belted out a final laugh and shook his head to free his flaming red bangs from his forehead. “Very well, then. Bathe in your own blood.” In that instant, Cidolas rushed forward once again, both weapons extended in her hands, and Taoris looked down at her with a vicious, bloodthirsty glare. He lowered his blades lazily just in time to meet hers with a perfect block. The steel embrace only lasted for a moment before both parties pulled their swords back, and not even an instant later they slashed both weapons forward. Both dual-wielders immediately entered a ridiculously fast clash of swords, equally blocking and attacking at the same time, at a speed that was almost faster than visible light. Silverius stood watching this embrace, momentarily breathless, for almost five seconds. ‘What kind of person is she? She’s right on par with him, blade for blade!’ The two appeared to be equals, with such perfectly coordinated swordplay that it was almost beautiful. Silverius quickly got a hold of himself, though, and aimed his sword at the battle. He planned to shoot Taoris when he was vulnerable – but this soon proved to be impossible. ‘It’s impossible. I can’t get a clean hit in on them; they’re too fast!’ Any bullet he shot at Taoris would likely hit Cidolas, or the difference between both targets was so negligible that there was no point in wasting a bullet. ‘I’ll have to jump right into it,’ the mercenary thought to himself, ‘and finish things.’ Just as he steeled himself to jump into the fight, Cidolas suddenly flipped backwards into the air with acrobatics that appeared superhuman. She landed with her hard flat shoes skidding on the hard concrete of the castle, and she came to a stop right beside Silverius. The sheath of her sword audibly cracked and fell apart in her hands. “We cannot defeat him alone,” Cidolas said as she stared down the glowering Crimson Death. He stood right where he was without an inch of ground yieled in the intense struggle and without a drop of sweat on his forehead. “We must work together.” Silverius nodded solemnly. “Without even getting into how incorrect that sentence sounds… You’re right. I can’t get a shot in, so I might as well use my sword for what it’s meant for. You ready?” “We are.” “You two done whispering over there?” Taoris let one of his swords rest on his shoulder again. “That was a nice little warm-up, but I think we should get started now.” The mercenary and the guardian of the Crystals nodded at each other before exploding forward, both swords drawn, to attack the Crimson Death. Silverius found himself thinking and acting faster than he ever had before. Locked in brutal combat with Cidolas on his side and the strongest enemy he ever fought in front of him, the mercenary swung his sword as quickly and strongly as he possibly could. He only managed to dodge Cidolas and Taoris’ attacks through sheer instinct and reflex, as he could barely see anything besides constant lines of opaque gray steel flying through the dark air. Taoris moved with incredible efficiency, to a level that showed his battle skills to be incredibly honed. Every movement he made doubled as a block and an attack, making it so that Cidolas and Silverius could not advance or retreat without danger of being hit with his gargantuan blades. What made things worse was the fact that the Crimson Death boasted swords almost twice the width of Silverius’ gunblade and Cidolas’ thin longsword, making his range effectively double theirs. With a laugh and a wide swing of one of his blades, Taoris suddenly repelled both Cidolas and Silverius’ swords, leaving them both shortly defenseless. Then, for the first time in the entire battle, he took a step forward. This momentum somehow doubled the power of Taoris’ next attack. He swung his free sword horizontally, with the intent of cutting both of his enemies in half, but Cidolas anticipated this attack in the split second before he acted. She planted her feet on the ground and brought her free hand downward, her muscles apparently moving in defiance of gravity and inertia. She pushed Silverius out of Taoris’ massive range. Without anything to block it, the Crimson Death’s sword cut right through Cidolas’ torso with enough power that she was instantly bisected. Her legs flew to the ground and released a veritable fountain of blood; her upper body was sent flying by the attack and landed some feet away. Her sword went flying through the air and impaled itself into the ground when it landed. The fight was over in an instant. Taoris stood watching the scene with a smile, and Silverius looked at his companion’s body with widened eyes. “Cidolas!” After a moment of frozen horror, Silverius ran to his companion’s upper body and stared down at her without comprehension. “You… You saved me!” Though her body was spewing blood, her arms were immobile, and her intestines were spilling out to the cold castle floor, the Crystal’s guardian looked up to the mercenary with as calm a face as ever. “Protect the Hero. No matter what, protect the Hero – and your Crystal.” “That doesn’t matter right now, dammit!” He knelt down and stared at her gruesome wound. “I… I can’t believe this. I didn’t want you to die, not anymore… You helped me! You saved my life!” “We are the guardian of those chosen by the Crystals. Protecting your life, so long as you follow the righteous path of the Crystal, is the reason we exist. Do not worry, Hero – we will meet again.” “Dammit… Dammit!” Silverius glanced at Taoris, who still was not moving, before looking down at his companion. “Your promise. Your promise! Do you remember the promise you said you could do for me?” The guardian nodded. “We do. Tell us what you request, Hero.” “I want you to live happily, Cidolas. I said I would, but… I can’t. Not yet. I know I don’t want you to be alienated, not anymore. I want you to become your own person, and seek out yourself! Please, promise me that you’ll live and seek happiness!” “…Very well, Hero of Wind.” Cidolas raised a blood-covered hand and caressed Silverius’ face. For the first time, she smiled, and actual joy shone in her eyes, even as the life drained from her face. “I’ll try living like that.” Her face was instantly destroyed as a massive broadsword suddenly smashed right into it, sending blood flying and her hand jolting back to the ground. Silverius started to shake and gulped in horror. He stood, slowly turning to the man behind him, the man who had thrown his sword like a javelin – and put the final nail in the coffin of Silverius’ guardian. “Your timeout ended,” Taoris said with a delighted smile. “But I decided to give you a bit of a handicap, since there’s only one sword on your side now.” Silverius’ eyes narrowed and he lost all emotion on his face. Standing tall with his mouth at a thin line, he switched his gunblade to his left hand and stared down the Crimson Death. “You killed her,” he said quietly. Taoris chuckled. “Yes. We tend to do that, people like you and me. And even with one sword, I’ll kill you next.” The mercenary reached into the small pouch strapped to the back of his belt. “Don’t you ever compare me to someone like you,” he said. “I don’t enjoy killing people. That’s where we’re different.” Afer some rummaging, he pulled his hand free of the pouch and held it in front of him in a fist. Silverius raised the fist to his mouth and quietly bit down. “Oh?” The Crimson Death let out an amused laugh. “That’s not how I see it. You and I are just alike – sinners with a bloody destiny. You can’t escape something like that, kid. There’s no reason to feel shame for something done for the sake of survival. Embrace it.” He took a step forward and held his broadsword up with both hands. “Embrace this.” Silverius pulled his fist down and threw its contents to the Crimson Death. The liberated hand grenade flew towards its target with a quick parabolic arc. “Hahaha! You fool, you think something like that would hit me?” Taoris started to dodge to the side, but instantly froze. His face fell as he realized – he could not dodge this attack. Directly behind him was the third Hero, Vainia Sestrum, asleep on her throne and covered by Taoris’ coat. Pushing his body to its limits, Taoris jumped forward, covering the grenade with his bulky body, and then kicked to the side with his foot. The process ended with Taoris flying towards the balcony, and completely shielding the final Hero from the grenade’s explosion. Once he made contact with the grenade, the explosion completely covered Taoris’ body. Not a bit of a scream was heard, but Silverius could hear the Crimson Death’s body fall to the ground off to the side. Smoke from the explosion wafted through the room and obscured most of his vision, not unlike the Black Darkness outside the castle. After the huge sound from the close-range explosion, the mercenary’s ears were left painfully ringing. With Taoris out of the way, Silverius started to walk towards the throne where Vainia had been asleep. Now, his face was just as cold and emotionless as Cidolas’ had been. His gunblade was still in his left hand, and his coat still flapped around his shoulders like a cape in the wind created by the explosion. When the smoke cleared, Silverius was only a step away from the throne. The third Hero had awoken by the blast – and now, with the ash gray smoke gone, she looked Silverius right in his eyes. Vainia screamed at the sudden appearance of the black mercenary covered in blood, and Silverius wasn’t sure if he wanted to save the girl’s life or end it. Before he could make a choice, Silverius found himself stepping forward involuntarily, as if something had pushed him forward. His body felt numb suddenly, and he forgot the soreness in his heart or the weariness he felt from the body. If anything, his chest started to feel wet, as if some sort of sticky liquid had infiltrated his clothes. Silverius looked down to find a massive broadsword impaled through his chest, the bloody tip of the steel weapon only a few inches away from Vainia’s body. The princess screamed again. Silverius stepped backwards, his legs refusing to work according to his brain and his hand dropping his gunblade. ‘What is this? This can’t be… This is impossible.’ His hands hovered over the blade pointing out from his chest as he stumbled backwards. His body started to shake, but he still didn’t feel anything in his chest. All he saw was the steel jutting from him, and blood. The blood was everywhere, spraying from his wound and gushing down onto his clothes. The blood – his blood – covered almost the entirety of the sword, and decorated his hands, too. ‘Whose blood is this? Is it Cidolas’? Taoris’? It can’t be mine; not here. Not like this…’ He looked up to see Vainia’s fearful, disgusted face, and off to the side he saw Taoris standing up. There was no sword in any of the Crimson Death’s hands. Somehow, the Crimson Death was still alive. His entire torso was almost destroyed, with his ribs exposed and most of his skin melted away. Vibrant strands of his intenstines spilled over past his belt, and blood decorated every part of his body, but he was still standing with a vicious glare on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but Silverius could barely focus on the man and almost didn’t hear his words. “I told you I can’t let you touch her. She’s under my care now.” The only answer Silverius could make was a cough full of blood. He stumbled once more, hands pathetically pulling at the sword bursting through him, before falling to his side. Vainia looked away from the mercenary and screamed once again when she saw Taoris’ ravaged body. The princess of Mortis held her hands over her closed eyes as she screamed again and again, her voice cracking and threatening to leave her. After a minute she felt the coat draped over her disappear, and she dared to open her eyes a sliver. She saw Taoris standing over her and frowning as he pulled the coat over his front, thus hiding his destroyed chest behind his trademark long jacket. He looked down at her with a frown. “Stop that racket. It’s over now.” Vainia hugged herself and held her feet to her chest. “I asked you to take me to someplace safe and this is what you come up with?! A dark slaughterhouse?” “Shut up already. I didn’t know that fool would come after me, let alone that they’d wake you up.” Despite her fear, Vainia stood up and slapped Taoris. The man looked down at her with more surprise than anger. “Watch how you talk to me! You’re my guardian now, and I will not be spoken to like that!” The Crimson Death’s expression darkened and he growled. “If my body wasn’t close to collapsing right now, and if you weren’t bribing me with my own heart, I’d put you in a worse state than that man over there. You’re a lucky one, kid.” “That’s Lady Vainia to you! I’ll have you know I am royalty!” “What are you, Queen of the pests? Ugh. I fucking hate kids.” Taoris turned his back on Vainia and started to walk away – but suddenly paused. He looked down at his body and growled. Silver runic chains were wrapped around his neck, keeping him from taking another step. “I said that you are to address me as Lady Vainia. Comply, or you’ll have a lot more to worry about than some measly chains around your heart, you brute! “Maria…” Both Vainia and Taoris froze. The Crimson Death was not the one to reply to the princess, nor anyone else standing amongst them. The strained word came from the side opposite the open-air balcony – from the mercenary who was impaled through the chest by Taoris’ greatsword. The princess and the Crimson Death both turned towards the mercenary slowly, with fear painted on their faces. There, slowly standing once again despite the blade bursting from his chest, was Silverius, apparently still alive. His arms hung loosely from his shoulders; blood covered every inch of his clothes. His head was lowered so that his bangs covered his eyes and shadow covered the rest of his face. Completely enshrouded like a child of the darkness, he defied life and logic both as he stood unshakably and faced the third Hero and her guardian. His voice was husky, low, and almost inaudible. He spoke without his lips moving much at all. “Maria… Where is Maria…?” “No…” Taoris said with widened eyes. “Impossible… It can’t be. You’re… undying, too?” “Maria…” Silverius slowly lifted his head. “Where is… Maria?” As the mercenary spoke, blood continued to run down his lips and chin. He pulled his head back all the way so that it his bloodstreaked neck was fully stretched and he looked down at both Taoris and Vainia. Silverius’ eyes were glowing with golden light. “What are you?!” Taoris screamed. He tried to move, but still found himself restrained by the glowing runic chains, even though Vainia was fearfully staring at Silverius. “Let me go! I’ll finish him off!” Silverius looked Taoris right in his eyes and raised his hands. The mercenary’s bloodstained hands gripped onto the tip of the sword and started to pull. Without so much of a twitch or a groan of pain, Silverius pulled the huge sword out of his chest, until it was free and the wide hole in his torso was completely open. Blood continued to freely lap out of the injury as he did so. Silverius’ face remained ever still as he nonchalantly dropped the sword onto the ground next to him. “No,” Vainia said simply. “We have to run. We can’t face this monster.” “What?!” Taoris turned back, but his master was still staring at the undead mercenary with dread. “I’m not afraid of him! My body feels no pain! Unleash me, and I’ll show you the power of your guardian!” “I said no!” The princess finally looked up to Taoris and struggled to keep horrified tears out of her eyes. “This is an order. Take me into your arms and get out of this place, now!” Taoris cut his eyes from Silverius to Vainia and back to Silverius again. Before he could say anything, Silverius took a single step forward. The Crimson Death shook with fear. Vainia instantly relinquished her rune chains from existence, and Taoris moved without hesitation. He gathered up the short princess in his arms and ran at the fastest velocity his legs could take him. Before a single second passed, he had arrived at the railing of the balcony, and he jumped onto it. Without wasting an instant, he jumped off the railing with the massive force of his quadriceps, sending him and Vainia flying off in the direction of the Inusian side of the Black Pass. As he flew through the air towards the rocky ground, Taoris couldn’t help but clench his jaw and swallow deeply as the princess rested her head against his collarbone and gripped tightly to the coat secured around his shoulders. ‘I can’t believe this,’ he thought to himself as the night embraced the two of them. ‘I was afraid of him.’ ...End of Part Sixteen. <- Previous Page | Main Page | Next Page - Revolution Arc ->